


Your Way Out

by cosima_geekmonkey_niehaus



Series: Shattered Glass [2]
Category: Orphan Black (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-01
Updated: 2014-09-01
Packaged: 2018-02-15 16:16:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2235390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cosima_geekmonkey_niehaus/pseuds/cosima_geekmonkey_niehaus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jennifer Fitzsimmons is suffering from her illness and is visited by a mysterious nurse.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Your Way Out

Jennifer woke up, her mouth dry and her body sore. She struggled to sit up in bed and reached over for a glass of water. The water stung as it went down her parched throat, and she winced as her bed sores ached. As she set the glass back down, she heard the door of her room open and she turned to see the back of the nurse as she closed the door.

"Good morning," the nurse said, not looking at Jennifer as she walked across the room to the counter to prepare Jennifer’s morning medication.

"Morning," Jennifer said dryly.

When she had first arrived at the institute for her treatment she had been her usual upbeat and happy self; they had promised her hope, and she was full of it. Four months later, however, her condition had only worsened - her hair was falling out, her mouth was covered in sores, and she had recently begun vomiting up blood on a regular basis. She could feel her once strong and athletic frame deteriorating into something weak, frail, and foreign. At this point, it felt more like waiting to die instead of fighting to survive. Even Greg could sense this; he had stopped greeting her with encouraging words, and instead just sat with her in silence, a deadened look in his eyes.

The nurse turned around and began busying herself with the IV. She wasn’t one of Jennifer’s usual nurses - in fact Jennifer had never seen her before - but something about her was familiar, even with her face mask covering all but her eyes. Jennifer examined the nurse closely; it was a little odd that she hadn’t spoken aside from her greeting. All of her regular nurses came in with a list of questions to gauge her health and her mood, pestering her from the moment they enter the room to the moment they leave, regardless of the time of day. This nurse, however, had remained silent, and it was putting Jennifer on edge.

She made eye contact with the nurse for a moment as she injected something into her IV tube, and the hair on the back of Jennifer’s neck stood straight up. She had definitely seen those eyes before, but she couldn’t place where or when she had seen them. The nurse finished up her work, but instead of leaving, she came right up to the edge of Jennifer’s bed.

"How are you feeling about all of this Jennifer?" the nurse asked, those eyes that were so unsettling to Jennifer piercing into her own.

"Tired, I guess," Jennifer said, not sure of what the nurse had meant. "A little sore, too."

"I didn’t mean how are you feeling right now," the nurse said, "I meant how are you feeling about your situation? About Dyad failing to improve your health? About being a pawn in their illegal experiment?"

Jennifer looked at the nurse in bewilderment, not sure of what exactly was going on anymore. She opted to just stare in silence for a moment.

In response to Jennifer’s silence, the nurse sat down on the edge of bed, and pulled off her face mask. Jennifer gasped in shock. She suddenly understood why the nurse’s eyes had seemed so familiar - the face in front of her was her own. The nurse, this woman, was identical to Jennifer, and her jaw dropped in shock.

"You see, Jennifer," the woman said, a soft smile on her face that didn’t reach her eyes, "you and I are both just subjects to these people. They don’t care about us because to them we aren’t people. And you know what, Jennifer?" Beth added, placing her hand on Jennifer’s arm and patting it, "I am beginning to realize they are right."

Jennifer closed her mouth slightly, but didn’t say anything. It was hard for her to wrap her head around what exactly was happening - only minutes before she had simply been Jennifer Fitzsimmons, swimmer, teacher, and patient. Now there was a woman who looked exactly like her telling her that they were part of some experiment. Jennifer couldn’t tell if it was her illness or this bombshell that was just dropped, but she was beginning to feel dizzy.

"I mean our whole lives have been a lie," the woman continued. "I spent twenty-eight years thinking I was Beth Childs, a successful police detective with a loving boyfriend and a full life ahead of me. It turns out I am merely one of many, with an attentive monitor disguised as my boyfriend, and a life full of experimentation and possible illness to look forward to. We are not people Jennifer. We are mere prisoners of scientific discovery."

"I don’t know what you’re talking about," Jennifer finally managed to say. "I have my students, and my boyfriend, and…" she trailed off, unsure of what else it was she had to live for.

"Exactly," Beth said, raising her eyebrows knowingly. "They have stripped everything that made your life worth living away from you. Your face is not unique, it’s one of many. Your illness is caused by their faulty science and they have no way to cure it. And your boyfriend is merely your monitor, reporting back to Dyad regularly. Your entire existence has been a lie, Jennifer."

A tear leaked out of Jennifer’s eye as she took in everything Beth was saying. Her entire life flashed before her eyes and her lip began to quiver. “How could they do this?” she asked, her voice cracking.

"I’m sorry to be the one to share this with you," Beth said, although the smile forming on her face was anything but apologetic, "but I have an offer for you - a way out, so to speak. I can set you free from all of this."

Jennifer stared at her expectantly for a moment, before she realized what Beth meant. “You don’t mean…you want to…are you asking me if I want you to kill me?” Jennifer sputtered.

The smile on Beth’s face widened slightly, but her eyes remained as cold as ever. Jennifer’s eyes darted around the room, trying to mull everything over, but she was becoming more and more lightheaded by the moment. Everything was happening too fast and Jennifer couldn’t handle much more.

"I can’t handle this!" Jennifer scream, her voice horse and crackling. "I can’t handle this," she said again, softer, before letting out a sob. She shook her head and closed her eyes, feeling as if she was already only a step away from death. "Just do it," Jennifer said, barely audible.

Beth stood up, adjusted her scrubs, and returned the mask to her face. She walked to the foot of her bed and looked at Jennifer. Jennifer looked confused, unsure of why Beth had made her beg for death, only to just leave. But as she opened her mouth to protest, her body began to shake violently.

Beth put her hands on Jennifer’s feet, squeezing them softly, almost affectionately. “I knew you would make the right decision, Jennifer,” Beth said as foam began to come out of Jennifer’s mouth, “so I took care of it before out little chat. I hope you can forgive me.”

Jennifer stopped shaking as she took a final gasp of breath before the life left her eyes for good. Beth smiled to herself, and gave Jennifer’s lifeless body a final pat before exiting the room, leaving no trace that she had been there at all.


End file.
